Daughter of the Black Pearl
by rogue-kaya
Summary: Slight AU. Twenty years after the curse of the Black Pearl had been lifted, Jack comes back and kidnaps Elizabeth and Will's only daughter, Mariana. But why has he done this? And why does Mariana not know who he is?
1. Home's Bliss

Mariana looked out of the window of her grand bedroom, showing her the beautiful view of the town and port, and beyond that, the sea. Her green- blue eyes were the same colour of the sea, and her hair was long and golden brown, much like her father's. To her, the sea was one of the most beautiful sights in the world, and she longed to know what it felt like to sail upon it; to be truly free. Many times she had fallen asleep with the sound of the crashing waves in her head and the feel of the sea wind blowing over her dreaming face. And just as many times, she had woken to find herself still on dry land, still in the same old house.  
  
Ever since she was a tiny child, Mariana had dreamt of sailing the high seas, without a care in the world, and she was sure that her father, William Turner, had once done just that. She could hardly believed that a man who had lived near the sea for all of his life had never set sail on the beautiful Caribbean sea. Nor could she believe that her mother, Elizabeth had always been the mother she now was. Some fire burned inexplicably in her eyes, telling Mariana that she too, had once longed for, and even received adventure.  
  
However, both her parents denied such things, her father saying that he had only once sailed the sea, on a crossing from England long ago, when he had met her mother. Elizabeth said that she had never had anything terribly exciting happen in her life, and that she was now happier than she ever hoped for to be married to William and have a daughter.  
  
She wasn't sure what, but something told Mariana that this wasn't so. But they were her parents, who had raised her lovingly, and protected her from all harm.  
  
Not that she'd ever been allowed near anything that could possibly cause her harm, but perhaps that is what was intended in order to keep her from harm.  
  
Mariana sighed and pulled herself away from the window, and stood up off the bay window's seat. It was the early morning of her seventeenth birthday, and already, she could tell that it would be a day to remember. She brushed the creases from her beautiful yet stifling dress, and walked out of her bedroom and down the cool, airy hall.  
  
Down in the kitchen, her parents greeted her with smiles and hugs, wishing her a happy birthday.  
  
"Did you sleep well?" Elizabeth asked as Mariana sat in her place at the table.  
  
"Yes, thank you, Mother," Mariana replied. "You?"  
  
"Very well," Elizabeth answered as she drank some tea. William slipped out of the room, and returned moments later with several boxes in hand.  
  
"For you," he said as he placed them in front of his daughter, whose face was lit up with joy. Eagerly, she opened the boxes one by one. The first contained a truly magnificent dress; the most wonderful that Mariana had ever seen. Inside the second was a ring of a bronze colour, with a flower carved into the metal, which held an iridescent piece of shell at its centre. The third box was long and thin, yet it weighed a considerable amount. Mariana looked up at her father, silently questioning what it was, before lifting the two catches on the side and lifting the lit. Her eyes widened in surprise and happiness as they saw what lay inside.  
  
It was a sword, long, thin and elegant. A dragon was carved into the pommel, and it snaked all along the hilt. The blade itself was a silver colour, which glinted in the sun as Mariana lifted it.  
  
"Happy birthday," William said, smiling proudly as Mariana gazed at the sword in her hand.  
  
"We knew that was what you really wanted," Elizabeth put in. She had always wanted to be able to learn to fight when she was younger, but had never been allowed, being raised as a 'proper young lady' by her Governor father. Elizabeth knew that it was not what Mariana's heart desired most, but she would not allow her only daughter to be taken by the sea. Elizabeth knew it's dangers and griefs all too well, and they brought pain to her heart everyday of her life.  
  
"Thank you," Mariana said in a voice barely above a whisper as she expertly handled the sword as her father had taught her. There was no doubt in her mind as to its maker. Only William could make swords this fine, and she would not have her sword crafted by any other. "It's incredible!"  
  
"Would you like to try it out?" William asked, a glint in his eye.  
  
"Yes!" Mariana replied.  
  
Minutes later, Mariana had eaten her breakfast, and had changed into a pair of breeches and a shirt, and looked a different person from the Lady she had been only moments before. Outside in the garden, her mother was sitting in a chair, and Will was already waiting with his sword.  
  
"Ready, are we?" he asked with a grin. In reply, Mariana brought the sword up in front of her face, keeping it there for a moment before swinging it to the side and dropping into a fighting stance. Will swung his sword around three times at his side before dropping into the same stance. A few seconds of silence passed before Mariana lunged forward, initiating her attack. Will blocked his daughter's lunge, and moved to the side, swinging his sword at her, which she blocked with accuracy before launching an attack at his legs. Will jumped over the blade before retaliating with another lunge.  
  
Elizabeth watched intently from the sidelines. She could see that Mariana's skill now matched that of her husband, and that, provided neither of them made a mistake, they would be at this for quite sometime. The steel blades flashed in the bright sun, and the clash of steel rang loudly in her ears. Will's blade came close to Mariana's arm, but here, Elizabeth did not fear for her daughter's safety. Although Will had never gone easy on Mariana, he had never hurt her during a duel, and Mariana had never injured Will, not even during her first lesson at that age of ten.  
  
The two battled backwards and forwards across the lawn, first Mariana being forced into retreating, the forcing her father to do the same.  
  
Will swung at Mariana, and she jumped backwards and fell to the ground, surprised by the attack. Elizabeth watched, thinking that, yet again, Mariana would loose to her father. Just as Will prepared to swing the defeating blow at her, she rolled to the side and flipped back onto her feet. Her lightning quick recovery startled Will, and gave her an opening for an attack. She lunged forward at him, the sword pointed at his chest. In his shock, Will failed to see the attack coming. The sword stopped just short of his chest, and Mariana smiled triumphantly.  
  
She had won.  
  
Will threw down his sword, acknowledging his defeat, and Elizabeth leapt out of her chair, clapping and cheering as she rushed over to her victorious daughter.  
  
"Well done!" she cried as she embraced her daughter. "You finally beat your father."  
  
"He had it coming," Mariana replied, grinning at her father.  
  
"For a long time," he agreed as he wrapped Mariana in his arms. "Well done, and well fought. Very well fought."  
  
Later that night, Mariana was again looking out of her window at the sea, this time lit by the moon which was reflected on the calm waters. They're almost too calm, she thought with a slight frown. She had been watching the same stretch of water for all of her life, and often knew when there would be a storm or rough seas before it happened. But tonight, the sea was perfectly calm, and all of the ships were safely docked in the harbour, save one, which was just sailing in. It had dark sails, which were ripped as thought it had been through a rough storm.  
  
She smiled to herself, dismissing the ship and thinking of the wonderful day that had now nearly passed, and of how, for the first time, she had defeated her father in fair combat.  
  
A knock sounded softly on her door, and as she turned, Elizabeth and Will entered. Will carried a small box in his hand, which he handed over to Mariana.  
  
"This came for you," Will said as she inspected the label. It was blank, save for the word 'Mariana', but it had a picture of a bird on it, as though it were someone's crest or symbol. It's a little late for a delivery, Mariana thought as she opened the box. Inside was a necklace with a pendant hanging from the silvery chain. It was a black pearl, with a tiny crystal set into the metal fixing above it.  
  
"Do you know whom it came from?" she asked as she took it from the box.  
  
"No," Will answered. "Someone left it at the door, and the butler found it. I suspect it's from one of your admirers," he teased, and Mariana glared at him before smiling.  
  
"Well, goodnight, Mariana," Elizabeth said as she turned to the door, Will in tow.  
  
"Good night," Mariana said as she watched them go before closing the door and sitting on her bed. She fastened the necklace around her neck, and lay down. She fell asleep with the same pictures of ships and sea, as she had done many times before.  
  
Mariana's eyes snapped open hours later as she heard a shuffling sound behind her. She lay silently, listening for more sounds and stilling her own breathing. Barely audible was the sound of someone else's breaths. Then, they stopped, and Mariana dismissed it as the remnants of a dream or her own imagination. She closed her eyes again, feeling safe in the light of the moon.  
  
Moments later, she heard the quick shuffling again, but before she could even open her eyes, she felt a rough hand clamp itself over her mouth, muffling the screams she tried to let loose. Another hand rolled her over to see a dark man looming over her. She stopped trying to scream, and a look of confusion came over her face. Mariana recognised this man.  
  
"Don't scream," the man said, his world slurred as his black hair fell about his face in twisted braids. "I'm not going to hurt you. I'm a friend of your mother and father. Just don't scream." With that, he lifted his hand hesitantly from Mariana's mouth. A split second passed before she opened her mouth and drew in breath to scream, but the hand was once again firmly clamped over her mouth. "I told you not to scream. I'm not going to hurt you. Will would kill me if I did. I just want to talk to you, savvy?" Mariana stared at the man, dumbfounded. How did he know her father's name? Why was he here? And why on earth did he expect her not to scream? She struggled, trying to get free of his hold. He rolled his eyes, apparently he had expected her to co-operate, and pulled out a rag from his waistband which he gagged Mariana with. He then pulled her hands behind her back, and tied them there securely, yet without hurting her. "Just don't panic," he said as he hoisted her onto his shoulder. Mariana kicked and wriggled, but he didn't loose his hold. He opened the window, and carefully climbed out and down the thick vines that weaved in and out of each other on the side of the mansion.  
  
Once he was down on the ground, he looked around before sprinting off with her into the darkness. 


	2. Kidnapped!

Mariana groaned as the man set her down on a chair. The dim light of the coming dawn was the only light in the cabin. He had run with her on his shoulder all through the silent town and to the port, where he had quickly scrambled onto a ship. His step had been certain, but there was a hint of drunkenness to it that did not escape Mariana's notice. He gave her a look that seemed to say that he was almost as surprised and confused as she was, before closing the door to the cabin of the ship. He then approached her as though she might leap up and bite him, and with the same kind of movement, removed the gag.  
  
It was the first time that Mariana had been able to see him clearly, and she now saw that his skin was a tan colour, and his eyes were a dark brown. A red bandana was tied around his head, keeping his long, black hair from falling in his eyes. Beads and coins hung from braids of hair and from the bandana. A twisted beard clung to his chin, and a moustache framed his mouth. He was dressed in a loose white shirt, which was partly covered by a brown overcoat; brown breeches; and a large leather belt with a heavy buckle was fastened around his waist. He stared at her now, as though wondering curiously what she would do now. She stared back, a look of utter confusion on her face.  
  
"You can scream now," he said, his hands and body moving extravagantly with his words, as though that was what he thought she should do. Mariana stared at him for a moment longer.  
  
"What do you think you are doing!? Who the hell do you think you are!?" she yelled at the top of her lungs, which obviously surprised him as he jumped back about five feet. "How dare you! Let me go!" The man continued to stare at her as though he had never seen a yelling girl in his entire life. Mariana continued to stare back, apparently waiting for an answer. "Well?" she demanded.  
  
"Jack, what on earth is going on?" a sleepy voice asked from the cabin door. It opened, revealing a dark haired woman dressed in similar clothes to the man apparently named Jack.  
  
"Nothing," he replied, stepping in front of Mariana as though that would hide her completely. "Nothing, Anamaria."  
  
"Jack, I heard shouts and yells commin' from this cabin, an' it weren't you," Anamaria replied matter-of-factly. Jack opened his mouth to retort, but thought better of it and shut his mouth again. She moved around the man, who made no attempt to block her way, and came close to Mariana. She studied her for a few seconds, and Mariana felt quite uncomfortable as she did so, shifting a little on the hard wooden chair. Anamaria turned back to Jack, her eyebrows raised, looking at him with an expression that told him immediately that she wanted an explanation – now!  
  
"Jack Sparrow!" she shouted in a stern voice.  
  
"Captain! Captain Jack Sparrow!" he insisted, but she paid no notice.  
  
"What on earth were you thinking bringin' Miss Turner here?" she demanded. "You know Will and Liz'll kill you!"  
  
"No, they won't, because I won't let her come to any harm, just as they wanted," Jack retorted.  
  
"They wanted her to remain in a safe place," Anamaria stated. "Do you think that their definition of a safe place is on a pirate ship bound for Tortuga at the next chance?"  
  
"Why wouldn't that be safe?" Jack asked earnestly, and Anamaria gave an exasperated sigh. "I'm still alive, aren't I?"  
  
"Only because I haven't killed you yet!" Anamaria retorted. She sighed again, and turned back to Mariana. "I'm sorry, lass. You'll have to excuse Jack. He's had one too many rums in his life to think straight anymore."  
  
"How is it that you know my parents, but I have no idea who you are?" Mariana asked uncertainly.  
  
"What? You don't know who we are?" Jack asked, swaggering towards the girl. "Hasn't your father or mother ever told you about us?"  
  
"No, and I'm not sure as to why they should have," Mariana answered. "My parents do not associate themselves with pirates."  
  
Jack and Anamaria exchanged glances, bewildered as to why Mariana would be playing them like this. After a few moments of silence, they both burst out laughing.  
  
"Don't associate themselves with pirates?" Jack repeated through his laughs. Suddenly, he stopped laughing, and became almost serious. "Will and Liz are very good friends of mine, and Will's practically a pirate himself, luv."  
  
"Are you mad?" Mariana asked, but then went on without waiting for a reply. "My father is no pirate, sir, and I would thank you not to call me luv," she snapped.  
  
"See, she's just like her mother," Jack said to Anamaria before returning his attention to Mariana. "Why are you playing us like this?" Mariana looked at him and frowned in confusion. It took Anamaria only a moment to read the girl's expression.  
  
"She's not playing us, Jack," she said, looking at her captain. "She really has no idea who we are."  
  
"No, I don't," Mariana said, greatly relieved that Anamaria seemed to understand. Jack moved over to her, and looked her straight in the eye.  
  
"Your father's father was a pirate," he stated as he begun to explain, his body and hands moving with his words as he paced the cabin. "Bootstrap Bill, to be precise. He left Will to grow up with his mother, and when she died, he came over to the Caribbean. On the crossing, my mutinous crew sank his ship, and Elizabeth happened to notice him in the water, so her ship picked him up. Now, for the next ten years or so, they lived happily and peacefully, until the same ship, with the same mutinous crew came and sacked Port Royale, taking your mother captive. In order to get her back, your father teamed up with me, commandeered a ship of the royal fleet and sailed off to save her. In the end, we all found each other, and came back here, where the wonderful Commodore decided to hang me. Your mother and father helped me escape at the last moment, and I sailed off into the distance on my wonderful ship, the Black Pearl."  
  
Mariana looked from Jack to Anamaria. "It's true, lass," she confirmed as Mariana tried to grasp it all.  
  
"My parents...did all that?" she asked at last, disbelief showing in her voice.  
  
"That and more, luv," Jack replied.  
  
"Well then why have they never told me?" she challenged.  
  
Jack opened his mouth to give an explanation, when he realised that he didn't have one, or rather, that he did, and wished to conceal it.  
  
"That one you'll have to clear up with your parents," he said, trying to avoid further questioning. Mariana was about to ask him again when there was another voice from the door.  
  
"Captain? We'd best be settin' sail now. Not long till dawn."  
  
"Yes, Gibbs," Jack called back through the closed door. "Set sail immediately."  
  
"What? You have to take me back to shore!" Mariana protested.  
  
"No, I don't," Jack replied with a sly smile on his face. "We never made an agreement."  
  
"But this is kidnapping!"  
  
"Is it?" he asked, looking surprised. "Oh." With that, he strode over to the door, opened it, and walked out on deck. Anamaria gave Mariana a glance before following Jack into the dark night.  
  
"Are you mad?" Anamaria asked Jack as she shut the cabin door behind her. "What do you plan to do with the girl? Give her a family history lesson that her parents missed out for some important reason? I mean, what is it that you plan to do with her?" Anamaria demanded.  
  
"Bring up the anchor, Mr. Gibbs! Take her out of here!" Jack called to Gibbs before answering the ever-impatient Anamaria. "I intend to set her free!"  
  
"Jack, so far all you've done to the poor child is kidnap her while she was sleeping, tie her to a chair and gag her, and tell her that her parents are not the people she thought they were. How on earth will this set her free?"  
  
"Anamaria, I've watched the lass all of her life, even when Liz and Will asked me to stop coming. She can't stand living like a prim and proper lady; she wants to be free. But she's not going to let go of that way of life too easy. All she needs is a little push, and that's exactly what I'm giving her."  
  
"I hope you know what you're doing, Jack," Anamaria said as she went to climb to the crow's nest.  
  
"I never do luv, I never do!" Jack called after her as he steered the Black Pearl out of the harbour and into the open seas. 


	3. Bargain

Author's Note: Thank you very much to TheHollister for your review! And to Kayleigh-talitha, well, a fanfic without Jack wouldn't be much fun. And don't worry about the hair; I have an idea for that in a later chapter. So, here's the next chapter, with more to come in the next few days!  
  
In the cabin, Mariana had soon given up on shouting at the departed pirates and calling for help. She stood up, and walked around the cabin, her hands still bound behind her back, but she knew how to change that. She went over to a mirror in the room, and put her back to it, turning her head so she could see the knot in the rope. Slowly and with difficulty, she eased the badly tied knot apart, and slipped her thin hands from the bonds, which fell to the floor.  
  
Mariana quickly opened the window to see that they were already far from the shore of Port Royale, and cursed under her breath, looking around the room, wondering what she could do now. As she scanned the room, she caught a glint of something in the corner of her eye. As she walked towards the bed where it lay, she saw that it was her sword, the one that her father had given her not a day before. Apparently, Jack had taken a liking to it, and had decided to take that as well. Next to it, some clothes were laid out; a loose white shirt and a pair of long breeches. Not exactly her style, but she decided that they would have to do.  
  
Glancing towards the door every now and again, Mariana took off her white nightgown, and quickly dressed in the shirt and breeches before finding a brown scarf, which she used to secure her sword to her waist. She found a green scrap of material, and used it to tie her long golden hair back, leaving two unruly strands out at the front. After looking through the cupboards, she found a pair of soft leather boots. They were a little too big, but they would do.  
  
She made her way to the door, passing a full-length mirror. You look exactly like a pirate, she thought in complete disgust. Surely Jack was lying about her parents. She could hardly imagine William Turner, the most honourable and noble sort of person you could find would engage in piracy, and that her mother, the noble Lady Elizabeth, daughter of the old Governor would be able to fend for herself among such scum. Of course, both of them could hold their own, but Mariana still couldn't and wouldn't believe the things Jack had said. After all, why should she?  
  
Tentatively, she pushed open the door of the cabin, and saw the men doing their duties on deck. Everyone seemed to be very concentrated on the task they were performing, and so Mariana slipped out of the cabin. She took two small steps forward, staying in the shadow cast by the cabin.  
  
"Hello, Maria, luv," a Jack's voice called from above. She straightened and turned to see the pirate leaning over the railings and scowled. "How did you get yourself out here?"  
  
"My name is Mariana, and do not call me 'luv'," she answered angrily.  
  
"Alright, alright," Jack said, putting his hands up in defeat. "Mariana. Nice to see you up on deck. Can't say I wasn't expecting you soon."  
  
"Then why didn't you just untie me?" Mariana asked, a hint of impatience in her voice.  
  
"Because, I wanted to prove my point."  
  
"What point?"  
  
"The point that pirate is in your blood, just as it is in mine, and Will's, and his father's," Jack explained, moving down the steps and standing next to her. Mariana gave an exasperated sigh, and started to move away, but Jack caught a hold of her arm, stopping her from going any further. Mariana just stared back at him, completely unafraid; though she knew all of her friends would have fainted by now. "Face it. You slipped out of your bonds; something that no Lady would ever even think of being able to do, let alone succeed, stole some clothes and shoes, took back what I took from you, and crept out. That's what pirates do, lass, and it's in your blood. Just give it three days, Mariana. Three days on this ship, with this freedom. I know you better than you think. You crave freedom, to be able to ignore your Lady's status and be who you want to be. I know that more than anything you want to sail the sea, get a feeling of what it is like to be truly free."  
  
Mariana looked hard at the man before her, searching his eyes, wondering how he could possibly know so much about her.  
  
"If you don't like it, we'll have you back in Port Royale by the third sunrise. I promise," Jack finished. For all she knew him, Mariana felt that she could trust this man to keep his word. Her eyes darted around, wondering if she should take this chance that she had always wished for, and that was now being offered to her so freely. All that she'd ever been taught was telling her that she should refuse this offer, and demand to be taken back immediately, but all that she truly was inside was screaming to her that she should take this one chance, before it was gone, and she was forced to live like a true Lady forevermore.  
  
"Three days, Jack," Mariana said at last. "Then you take me home."  
  
Instead of saying 'thank you', shaking her hand or clapping her on the back, Jack made a slight bowing gesture, as though thanking her for her answer.  
  
"Right, Maria, luv," Jack said, gesturing to the mast with the crow's nest high above them. "Climb up there, say your goodbyes to port Royale, then look out to your freedom."  
  
Without telling him her name, or not to call her luv, Mariana ran over to the rigging, and began to climb it confidently, as though she had been doing it all of her life. Jack watched with something similar to pride shining in his eyes before he was disturbed.  
  
"Jack," Gibbs began slowly. "Has anyone ever told you that it's bad luck to 'ave one woman on board, let alone two?"  
  
Jack turned to face the old man.  
  
"I've told you before that it would be far worse not to have Anamaria aboard," Jack explained.  
  
"Aye, and what about the little one?" Gibbs enquired.  
  
"It's lucky for her that she's on board," Jack answered, turning back to watch Mariana just as she reached the crow's nest high above.  
  
Mariana climbed into the crow's nest high above the deck of the Black Pearl, and saw that Anamaria was up there also.  
  
"He convinced you to stay, then?" Anamaria asked without looking away from the ocean.  
  
"Yes," Mariana said as she glanced back at the last traces of Port Royale as they disappeared into the distance. "But why did he take me?"  
  
"Who knows?" Anamaria asked as she turned to face the young girl. "Jack follows his own rules, has his own way of life. After nearly twenty years of sailing with him, I still don't understand him completely. Personally, I think he's gone mad from all the rum."  
  
"You mean to say that we are sailing under a mad and drunk captain pirate?" Mariana asked in disbelief. "A mad drunk man cannot captain a ship!"  
  
"But that's were you're wrong, lass. He can captain this ship," Anamaria returned. "And I have no doubt that it's only because of his mad ways that we've stayed alive and afloat this long. Some, or even most of the things that he does don't seem to make sense. But he's kept us out of trouble for this long, so I'll trust his judgement for a few years more."  
  
Mariana nodded and looked out across the ocean. Her whole life she'd dreamed of doing just this; of sailing the high seas with no one to give a damn about who she was, and just accept her for the person she truly wanted to be.  
  
"How did you come to be here?" she asked at last. "Did Jack come after you as well?"  
  
"No," Anamaria replied with a slight smirk. "I came after Jack."  
  
"Why?" Mariana asked, a curious look on her face.  
  
"He stole my boat," Anamaria answered. "He stole it from me then got it sunk. I sailed with him and your father to rescue Elizabeth with the promise that I would receive the Interceptor. But that was sunk too, so I decided to sail with Jack as his first mate."  
  
Mariana looked down to the deck, where most of the men were milling around. Jack was at the helm, and Gibbs was standing near, looking up at the two women in the crow's nest, a disapproving frown on his face.  
  
"I don't think Gibbs wants me here," Mariana said as she studied the old man.  
  
"He's just very superstitious. He doesn't like me bein' here either, but he'll sail under Jack's orders, and not argue," Anamaria explained as she followed Mariana's gaze down to Gibbs. When he saw both of them, watching him, he looked down and went back to his duties.  
  
"Did he try to talk Jack out of bringing me on board?"  
  
"None of us knew Jack was bringing you, lass. I dare say he's been planning it for ages, but he didn't breath a word of it," Anamaria answered, glancing back in the direction of Port Royale to make sure they weren't being followed. "Coming to think of it, he must have been planning it for years. He'd keep insisting we came back to Port Royale about once every few months. All of us thought it must just have become one of his mad habits, but I guess now that he'd been planning," Anamaria said with a shrug.  
  
As she spoke, Mariana felt a wave of realisation sweep across her. She decided that she would speak to Jack about things later, when she could talk to him alone.  
  
"Here, make yourself useful," Anamaria said, pulling Mariana from her thoughts. "Climb out on the rigging and make sure all of the sail ropes are taught and secure."  
  
Mariana nodded and ducked out of the crow's nest, climbing down the rigging a little before crawling along the wooden beams above the sails, checking each of the ropes as she went by giving them a firm tug.  
  
Anamaria watched for a moment, then looked down to Jack and motioned to the girl. Jack looked up and grinned. Mariana was moving with such ease and comfort on the beams high above the deck that it looked as though she had been doing it for all of her life.  
  
"Look at that," Jack mumbled to himself, unheard by Gibbs or any of the crew. "Pirate blood is hard lost, no matter what they try."  
  
Mariana had soon checked all of the sails, and sat at the end of the foremost beam of the ship's sails. It was a wonderful feeling, the salty air rushing around her face and through her hair, making her loose clothes blow about. Her feet were dangled over the edge of the beam, and one hand held a rope, just in case she should loose her balance.  
  
She gazed out at the sea, the sun glinting brightly off every wave as the ship cut through the ocean. At the front of the ship, dolphins were swimming in the water, jumping up above the waves every now and again. As she watched them, Mariana wondered what it would be like to be out there with them.  
  
Anamaria saw her gazing at the prow, and called out to her.  
  
"Go and explore the ship! Just be careful."  
  
Mariana nodded, smiling and crawled back along the beam to the rigging, which she climbed down with speed and grace. Once on deck, she raced to the prow, climbing up onto the small beam that was directly above the dolphins, jutting out into the sea like a compass pointing out the direction they were bound. Slowly, she inched her way out, stopping near the very tip of the beam. She lay down on the beam, her ankles tightly crossed and hooked onto it so she could keep her balance.  
  
Just a few feet below her, a school of dolphins swam, racing on the ship's current and breaking the surface very now and then. Mariana smiled down at them, and then looked out in the direction they were heading. To her, there seemed to be nothing but blue waters and freedom ahead. But for the first time, Mariana thought about her parents. Would Jack have left them a clue that he had taken her, or wouldn't he have thought to do that? Would they come after them? For a moment, Mariana missed them terribly, and wished she could let them know that she was unharmed and wanted to go, but that thought was washed away as one of the dolphins leapt high out of the water, splashing Mariana with ocean spray. 


	4. Chasing the Horizon

Author's Note: Special thanks to the person who set up an email reminder for updates, despite this story being untouched for six years. You have no idea how much this has motivated me! To reassure you, this story is finished, with the final version sitting on my computer, waiting to be published. So here we go!

"Will! Will, where are you?" Elizabeth screamed as she ran through the house, searching frantically. "Will!"

"I'm here, Elizabeth," he called as he ran out of the parlour to meet her. "What's wrong?"

"Mariana's gone! Someone took her in the night!" Elizabeth replied, her voice desperate.

"What! No, no one's taken her," Will said unbelieving as he ran up the stairs to Mariana's room. "No one could have taken her!"

He burst into the bedroom, looking around frantically. Elizabeth entered the room behind him, and helped her husband look for their daughter, in the hope that somehow she hadn't heard their cries.

"Mariana!" he called one last time before sinking onto the bed, his head in his hands. Elizabeth sat gently beside him, staring into nothingness in utter shock, a million questions running through her head. Absently, she reached out and ran her hand over her daughter's pillow. Elizabeth's head snapped around as her hand brushed against a piece of paper. She picked it up and looked at it, and in that second, many of her questions were answered.

"Will, look," she whispered, handing him the scrap of paper. He took it and studied it. Drawn in black ink was a sparrow in flight, and the sun setting over the sea behind it. Will looked at Elizabeth, sudden realisation dawning on his face.

"Jack."

Will pounded on the door of James Norrington's office, and didn't bother to wait for a reply before bursting in through the door. Norrington looked up at Will, and then saw Elizabeth standing behind him, both looking distraught.

"Elizabeth, William, what ever is the matter?" he asked concernedly as he stood up and walked around his table, which was covered in various pieces of paper.

"Mariana's gone," Elizabeth replied, her voice sounding weary and worried. "Jack Sparrow took her last night."

"What?" Norrington asked, surprised. He'd always thought that after he's almost been hanged there twenty years ago that the infamous Captain Jack Sparrow would never return to Port Royale, much less kidnap someone there. "Why?"

"We don't know," Will said as he put his arm around Elizabeth as though to keep her from being taken too. "We found this on her pillow," he said as he handed the Commodore the slip of paper. "That's how we know it was him."

"And he took her, just like that?" Norrington asked as he studied the paper. "You haven't seen him?"

"Not since…" Elizabeth's voice trailed off and she bit her lip as though painful memories were rushing through her mind.

"I see. So that mad pirate though he could just come here and snatch Mariana right out of the blue. I should have expected something like this of him all along."

"Wait," Elizabeth said, frowning as she realised something. "Will, the black pearl pendant Mariana received last night. It was from Jack, a signal that he was coming. Why didn't we realise?"

"Because we told him to stay well away after what happened. He gave his word that he wouldn't come back until he was wanted," Will replied.

"And you trusted his word?" Norrington asked in near disbelief.

"Yes," Will replied simply. It was true; he had trusted Jack's word that he wouldn't come until he was wanted. Jack knew how they felt, and why they had asked him to stay away.

"I am not leaving my daughter to sail with pirates," Elizabeth said as she paced to the window and looked out at the sea, her voice wavering as she spoke.

"No, of course not," Norrington said as he strode towards the door. "We will sail after them immediately. They can't have gotten more than an eight-hour head start, so we should easily catch them on the Spirit. She'll be ready to sail in an hour or so."

"Thank you, James," Elizabeth said, the gratitude showing clearly in her voice.

"Think nothing of it, Elizabeth. You know that you are like family to me now," Norrington said, looking Elizabeth in the eye. "Go and get whatever you need from the house, and meet me at the Spirit's dock in an hour."

Elizabeth nodded, and she and Will hurried back their mansion.

An hour later, Norrington was giving the order to heave anchor and sail out of Port. As he commanded his men, who scurried around the ship, doing his every bidding efficiently, Elizabeth moved to the very front of the ship. She looked out on the open horizon, wondering how many miles ahead her daughter was, and hoping that she was safe. Elizabeth had been through a somewhat similar ordeal once before, and she knew the story; and the ending wasn't a happy one. She shivered and rubbed her arms, though the sea breeze was far from cold. But the last time, it hadn't been at Jack's hands. She had to keep reminding herself of that.

Elizabeth suddenly felt hands grasp her cold arms, but she didn't need to look to see who it was, and she lent against her husband.

"Don't worry. We'll get her back," Will said reassuringly.

"Will, how can you know that?" Elizabeth asked, resting her head back on Will's shoulder. "How can you trust a pirate with the care of our daughter?"

"He's not just any pirate, Elizabeth. We both know that. I know Jack. He'll keep Mariana safe from harm."

"That mad man can't even keep himself safe."

"He cares for others more than he cares for himself," Will said, turning so he could look Elizabeth in the eye. "Try to trust him. He knows how we feel, how much we care about her."

Elizabeth just nodded, fighting her emotions as she lent against Will.

"I just hope we find her soon."


	5. Moonlight on the Pearl

"Maria!" Jack called from his place on the deck of the Pearl. He scanned the deck, and then turned his eyes upwards to the crow's nest and rigging. Night had fallen upon the sea, making it difficult for Jack to see anything clearly. Mariana heard his call, and sighed, wishing he'd use her full name, even though she had already resigned herself to being called Maria for the duration of her stay on the ship.

"I'm up here!" she called from the foremost sail.

"Come down, lass. Time to get some rest!" Jack called back in her direction. Maria nodded and looked around, looking for the quickest way down. She saw a rope and grinned, reaching out for it. "But not that way Ma-" Jack shouted as Maria grabbed the rope and jumped off the sail, sliding down towards him. She landed right in front of the captain with a small thud, looking very pleased with herself. "Aye, an' no more of that showing off tonight, lass," Jack said, smiling himself as he led her down into the great cabins.

Once inside, she took a few moments to allow her eyes to adjust to the brightness of the room, and found it to be larger than she imagined, and highly decorated. Jack led her to the back of the room, where another door was. He opened the door, revealing another private room, smaller than the first, but still much better than Maria had expected on the ship.

"These will be your quarters," Jack beamed as Maria looked around. "No-one will bother you in here, so there's no fear of that."

"Thank you," Maria said, smiling gratefully.

"Just so you know, luv, I left something so that your parents'll know you're with me. They'll understand, so you needn't worry about them." Jack then hovered by the door for a few moments, not knowing what else to do with the child that he had brought into his care. He smiled once more and turned to go, but stopped when Maria said, "Jack, can I ask you about something?"

"What?" he asked, sounding a little suspicious.

"How long have you been planning this for?"

"Planning what, luv?"

"All of this. Coming back to Port Royale, taking me and sailing off before I even had a chance to refuse."

"Planned? No, this was all on impulse. What makes you think otherwise?" Jack asked.

"Just wondering," Maria said innocently. "It's just that someone told me you'd been dropping into Port Royale every once in a while for quite some time now. I just wondered if you'd been doing that in preparation for this."

"Not exactly," Jack said, avoiding giving a straight answer. Mariana raised her eyebrows, asking him what exactly he had been doing. "Well, kind of," Jack said, uneasily.

Odd, Maria thought, He's never seemed awkward before.

"If you must know," Jack continued at last, "I was popping in to see you. To see how you were, how you were getting on."

"But how did you even know I existed?" Maria pressed, now more confused than before.

"I'm a friend of your parents, luv. I already told you that. They didn't really want me around after a while for certain…reasons. But I've always been watching you, looking over you every now and again, just to make sure you were alright," he said uncomfortably, as though admitting that he cared for her made him embarrassed.

"Jack, I remember you, from when I was a little girl. As I went to sleep, I used to see a man watching me from the window. But as I got older, I realised that I must have been dreaming. And eventually, you stopped coming," Maria admitted, those midnight memories suddenly making sense.

"I never stopped coming, luv. Never. I just came later when you started staying awake after your parents said goodnight," Jack explained, his genuine feelings of care for Mariana showing. She wondered why this pirate could care about her so much, when he had never even really met her until that day, but decided not to press that matter. Instead, she just nodded.

"But Jack," she began after a few moments silence. "Why didn't my parents want you around after a while? Why did they try to stop you from coming? And why wasn't I ever allowed near the sea?"

"That I can't tell you," Jack said quickly, edging towards the door.

"But Jack-" Maria began to protest, but was cut short.

"Goodnight, Maria," and he closed the door before she could say anything else.

Mariana sighed and stood, pacing over to the small window. Outside, the moon lit the seemingly infinite sea, casting a pale light across her face. She looked out across the ocean, wondering how many things had been hidden from her during her young life, and why Jack was so unwilling to share what he knew. She looked away from the window, surveying her room. Seeing a closet, she went over, and opened the doors. Inside, she found a nightdress, spare shirts and one red dress. Apparently, this trip had not been entirely unplanned. Quietly, Maria slipped out of the loose shirt and breeches, and put on the light nightdress. She smiled as she spotted a hairbrush lying on top of the one set of drawers in the room, and brushed her tangled hair through. At last, she settled down into her bed, which she found to be pleasantly comfortable, and lay down, finally drifting off to sleep with many questions in her mind.


	6. Window to the Past

Elizabeth tossed and turned in her bed, many images flashing through her dreams, most of them memories of that terrible night seventeen years ago.

"No! Thomas!" she screamed as she was shaken awake. Will was sitting next to her, one hand one her shoulder. She glanced around the room, to make sure she knew where she was, her breathing heavy. She looked to Will, a stricken look on her face. "I was dreaming that-"

"I know. You were talking in you sleep," Will cut her off, wrapping his arms around his wife. She leaned into him, biting her lips as she fought back tears. After so many years, the pain had far from gone.

"I'm just so worried about Marianna. If the same thing were to happen to her, I don't know what I'd do," Elizabeth whispered, her voice shaking.

"Nothing will happen to her. Jack swore he'd always take care of her the moment she was born."

"But what if something happens, something that is beyond his control?" Elizabeth asked.

Will sighed. He was just as worried as she was, and still blamed himself for what had happened to Thomas. "We will find her. The Commodore is tracking the Pearl as best he can. So just try to get some sleep. That way we'll be all the better for tomorrow."

"All right," Elizabeth said quietly as she lay down. "But I can't help worrying."

"I know," Will said as he lay down beside her. "I know."

Neither of them slept well that night, both laying awake, worrying about their only child, or sleeping fitfully, their dreams unpleasant reflections of the past. But the next morning, both were up on deck none the less. Elizabeth had insisted on dressing in a naval uniform, which seemed to slightly disturb the Commodore, though Will thought it to be a very sensible idea. She had then climbed the rigging and stood in the crow's nest, telescope in hand as she scanned the horizon. Will occupied himself by studying every map on board, looking for any possible hideout that Jack might be making his way to. He had demanded that he be told as soon as another ship was spotted, though so far, none had been seen.

Gillette strode up to Norrington, who was stood by the helm.

"Sir, might I ask you a question?" Gillette asked cautiously.

"Of course, Gillette," Norrington replied, turning to look as his first mate and friend.

"The Turners, Elizabeth and Will, they appear to be very worried. I know that any parent would be their child was stolen by pirates, but they seem especially uneasy, as though they know what will happen."

"They do, or at least they know what could happen," Norrington said, a little sadly.

"This has happened before, then? Mariana has been taken before now?" Gillette asked, trying to understand.

"No, not Mariana," Norrington returned gravely. "The Turners had another child, a boy, about five years older than Mariana. You were serving in England at the time he was born, so you never knew him. When the lad, Thomas, was five, and his sister was less than a year, the family went to visit an island, just for a few days peace and quiet so Elizabeth could get some rest. They were sailing on one of the fleet's ships, but they were about half a day into their journey when pirates attacked the ship. They took over the ship, commandeering it for all its valuable cargo. It turned out that they were also short of crew members, so they singled out all of the younger, healthier men in the crew to take as their own. Unfortunately, and I dare say the pirates didn't mean to, Thomas somehow got shepherded on with the others, and they were long gone before it became crystal clear that Thomas was not among those left behind.

"They didn't give Mariana a second glance, in part because she was a girl, and partly because she was still only a babe. Elizabeth was the only woman on board, but Will defended her so fiercely that the pirates couldn't take them either.

"Because they had no use for the rest of the crew, they were marooned on the nearest isle, the Turners included. Elizabeth and Will were both distraught, understandably. The crew quickly lit a signal fire, and thankfully, the Black Pearl was in the area, and came to pick them up. Will and Elizabeth wanted to give chase immediately, but someone talked them out of it, saying it would be better if they took Mariana home first, which they eventually agreed to. They sailed back to Port Royale. Will told me as soon as he arrived what had happened, and I immediately dispatched three ships to track down the pirates, mine included.

"Jack ended up staying with the Turners for a time, just helping them to cope, though why they saw him as help, I'll never know. After three months of scouring the Caribbean, we had to return home, having not found a single trace of the pirates or the boy. By this time, I believe the Turners held out very little hope for the boy, and Elizabeth spent every waking moment with Mariana, as though compensating for the time she could no longer spend with her son.

"They asked Jack not to come and visit any more; he often had dropped in to see them and the children before all this happened, much to my dismay. He agreed, understanding why they asked this; to protect Mariana, and nothing was heard of him again. Mariana grew up closely protected by her parents, though Will taught her the sword so she could defend herself. Everything was as normal Jack until came back."

Gillette nodded, taking the whole story in as Norrington told it. He had never known any of this before, and it answered his question fully. He felt that he could say nothing, so he nodded, spun on his heel and walked away, leaving the Commodore to his contemplations.


	7. Bracing for the Storm

"It's not good," Anamaria said, scanning the skies right to the horizon. Far off in the distance, a huge, dark cloud could be seen. "Looks like a storm, and a bad one at that."

"Can we get around it?" Jack asked.

"No, it's far too big. I've never seen one like it before," Anamaria replied.

"When will it hit?"

"Late afternoon, maybe just after sunset," Anamaria said, sounding anxious.

"We'll have to pull into port to weather one that big," Jack said.

"Only trouble is there aren't any ports around here, least not any we can get to in time," Anamaria put in.

"Then we'll have to drop anchor at the nearest island," Maria said, appearing from behind the two.

"How long have you been there?" Jack asked.

"Long enough," Maria replied, a slight smile on her face.

"It's a good idea, if there are any islands nearby," Anamaria said in agreement with Maria's suggestion.

"There's one, about three miles from here," Jack said, an odd tone of thought in his voice.

"How do you know that?" Maria asked.

"I was marooned on it twice," Jack explained. "I know exactly where it is, an' as I remember, it has a perfect little cove to anchor the ship and weather the storm." Anamaria nodded. "Three miles north-east of here," Jack added, and Anamaria walked off to steer the ship to its new destination.

* * *

"What now?" Maria asked, approaching Jack. It was three hours later, and they had found the island and dropped anchor, making sure that the ship could not break free. Then the crew had busied themselves, Maria included, by securing everything on board, and taking up all of the sails on the Pearl's huge masts. A few of them were still going around, double and triple checking that everything was secure, and there was no chance of anything coming loose in the oncoming storm.

"You get off the ship and onto the island," Jack began, and Maria pulled an appalled face. "Find somewhere you can sit and weather out the storm."

"No," Maria said, shaking her head in disbelief. "You can't expect me to leave you all here and wait on the island for the danger to pass over you and the rest of the crew."

Jack rolled his eyes, wishing that for once the girl would do as she was told. She had too much of her parent's temper, he thought. "Luv, you'll be safe on that island. The ship will be too dangerous for you, even if you stayed below deck."

"But I don't want to stay below deck," Maria protested stubbornly. "I want to stay here and help you."

"I promised Will and Liz that I'd keep you safe. Ship in a storm isn't safe," Jack replied. "Especially a storm as big as this one will be."

"Then you'll need all the help you can get," she pointed out, and Jack sighed. "Jack, it was you who brought me out here, and you who said I have pirate blood in my veins. I'm not going to sit on some beach, watching you all fight for your lives."

"Anamaria!" Jack called. Anamaria, who was talking to Gibbs, nodded and walked over to Jack, Gibbs in tow. "Kindly take Maria ashore, and make sure she stays there." Anamaria walked to Mariana, and put a hand on her shoulder, which was quickly shrugged off.

"I want to stay here, and help you all," Maria said, pleading with Anamaria.

"We will need everything to get through this," Gibbs muttered, hardly believing that he was campaigning for a girl to stay on board.

"Aye," Anamaria agreed. "And if you send me with her, you'll have lost two sets of hands. You've been saying yourself how well she handles sailing, and I'm inclined to agree. She'll be able to weather the storm on deck, and she'll be a help, too."

Jack sighed heavily and turned his eyes skywards, muttering something under his breath. "All right," he conceded. "But you're to stay here on the deck, and you're not to go climbing the riggin' during the storm; that's a job for the rest of us. Understood?"

"Yes," Maria said, nodding. Anamaria and Gibbs went back to what they had been doing, and Jack walked to the side of the ship to watch the oncoming storm. "And Jack?" Maria said, making the pirate turn to face her. "Thank you for trusting me to be able to do this." Jack nodded his acknowledgement, then turned back to the seas.

* * *

The storm hit hard and fast that evening, just after the sun had gone down. Maria had watched a hundred storms from the shore, but she had never experienced one on a ship before. Even though it was near the shore, the wind seemed so much stronger, and the crash of the waves that much louder. Maria ran across the deck to tie down a crate that had snapped its bonds and was now sliding around. She tied it tightly in its place; all the while the wind whipping the rain into her eyes.

Lightning cut across the sky, illuminating two figures up on the highest mast. Even from such a distance, Maria knew who they were: Jack and Anamaria. For a moment, she prayed they would be safe, then Gibbs called her, needing help and she raced over to him.

* * *

Early that morning, before the sun had risen, the storm weakened and finally dissipated. Jack had everyone line up on deck, primarily to make sure that everyone was still present. He walked up and down the line as he spoke.

"Well done all. That was a tough storm, and I'm very glad to see you all came through," he stopped at the centre of the line. "I expect that by now, you're all very tired, so you can all take the day off to rest." The men cheered, then quickly disappeared below deck, save for Anamaria and Mariana.

"Gibbs tells me that you were a great help in the storm," Jack said to Maria, a kind of pride shining in his eyes. "I reckon you'll make a good pirate yet."

Maria was about to protest, saying that she'd never be a pirate, when she decided to take it as a compliment. After all, her father and grandfather had been a pirate, so there was no point in denying who and what she was.


	8. Freak Weather

"All right!" Jack called from his place at the helm. "Pull up anchor and release the sails!" The crew cheered as they carried out Jack's bidding, glad to be sailing again after the terrible storm. Moments later, the Pearl's dark sails had been released, and the ship began gliding out of the cove and into the sapphire Caribbean Sea. Jack grinned, feeling the fresh salt air run through his tangled hair as he steered the Pearl.

Maria was high up in the crow's nest, keeping look out for any ships or islands on the horizons.

"Anythin' up there, lass?" Gibbs called from the deck, tearing Maria away from her thoughts.

"Nothing but blue skies and seas!" Maria called back down.

"Good, that'll make my watch easier," Gibbs said. "Come down 'ere. Jack wants to talk to ya."

Maria nodded and climbed down, too tired to do anything fancy after last night's storm. "Did he say why?" she asked, and Gibbs shook his head before steadily making his way up to the crow's nest. Maria shrugged and darted over to the helm where Jack stood.

"Ah! There you are, luv!" Jack exclaimed as he saw her.

"Gibbs said you wanted to talk to me?" she enquired in a curious voice.

"Aye, well, it appears that it's come to the time to turn back to Port, it bein' the third sunrise in the morning." Mariana suddenly realised with a jolt that he was right; she had been away from home for almost three days. "As we agreed."

"Jack," Maria began, speaking carefully. She hardly knew where to begin, so she took a deep breath, and just said whatever she thought of. "I've really enjoyed these past days," Jack grinned at this comment, "and though I know I have to get home and let everyone know that I'm okay, I don't want to stay there forever. I love my family and my home, but now I've had time at sea, I don't think I could stay on land forever more. I love it out here, on the sea, on this ship, where no one cares who I am, what I dress like or how I act. Jack…you've set me free."

Jack smiled at Maria, the odd fatherly-like pride showing itself on his face again. "I'm glad you've enjoyed your time here, luv, and I'd be glad to have you as a part of my crew any day. But, as we agreed, I shall take you back to Port Royal, and you can see your parents again."

Maria had hardly gotten the words 'Thank you' out of her mouth when a strong wind blew up, bringing with it the scent of a storm.

Gibbs stared wide-eyed as the huge thundercloud that had not been there moments before loomed in front of him. "Damn freak weather," he muttered darkly under his breath before yelling at the top of his lungs "Thunder storm ahead!" The entire crew flocked to the prow, watching the power of the fast oncoming storm growing before their very eyes.

Jack stared at the cloud, frowning. Whether it had been created by fate, destiny or another curse, the storm struck him as being the most unnatural thing he had ever seen. "Tie everything on deck down! Secure anything and everything, including yourselves! I want five of you to go up there an' release those sails, but only if you know you can handle it!" Four of the crew answered Jack's calls and quickly began climbing the rigging. The rest ran around like headless chickens, tying everything in its place. Jack knew that he was pushing it with only five men attending the sails, but with four, there was little hope of getting it all done. He glanced over to Maria, and saw her looking at the oncoming storm, frozen in her place. He placed a heavy hand on her shoulder, bringing her back to reality. "Do you think you could get up there an' help those men?" he asked in the most serious voice Maria had ever heard him use.

Maria thought for a moment, and then her expression turned to one of utter determination. She nodded. Jack nodded back, and Maria ran to the nearest part of the rigging and began to climb it with lightning speed. Her heart leapt into her throat as the first flash of lightning cut across the sky, immediately followed by a loud clap of thunder.

She reached the first sail that the other men had begun to release, and helped them pull the last few ropes, letting the dark material go from the top of it's bonds, leaving it to flutter like a huge flag. Maria signalled to the next sail, and she and the men made their way towards it as quickly as they possibly could.

Anamaria stood at the helm with Jack, the swelling waves already too strong for one man to be able to control the wheel. She gave Jack a worried glance, one that he shared. This storm was already much stronger than the one before, and the rain lashed down, making it almost impossible to see. Most of the crew had now tied themselves to the main mast on a safety line, and only the five up on the rigging remained unseen.

Minutes later, Maria swung through the rain on a rope, landing next to Anamaria and Jack.

"All of the sails are loose," she reported. "What now?"

"Now you tie yourself to the mast and ride it out," Jack said sternly, in a voice the Maria knew not to argue with. She nodded, and turned only to face a huge wave towering over the ship, about to sweep over the deck. It was the most terrifying thing that she had ever seen, and knowing that it was about to crash over her made it even worse. Jack saw it too, and reached out to grab Maria just before it swept over the ship.


	9. Rumrunner Isle

The first thing Maria realised, was that it was dark. Her second thought was panicked, as she realised that she must be dead. Then, something touched her arm. No, it was someone grabbing her arm, and they were pulling her up to the surface. Barely conscious, Maria turned to face that someone. It was Jack!

She shook her head, trying to make herself more aware, and then began kicking her legs; her face turned up towards the dim light that she could only hope was the surface of the water. Oddly, it seemed so peaceful down there, and so much quieter. But the storm was still raging in the surface world, and this was made clear by the sudden flash that intensified the light above them, and lit up the mysterious world below for an instant.

The surface was getting closer. The light was getting stronger. But at the same time, Mariana was slowing. Her lungs felt as though they would burst, and her whole body ached for air. Jack gave one last tug on her arm, and she was brought up to the surface.

"Maria! Maria, luv! For the love of the gods, say something to me!" Jack shouted above the raging storm, still holding on to her still body. Maria pulled in a deep breath of the life giving air and coughed.

"My name is Mariana, and don't call me 'luv'," she said, her voice barely audible. Jack grinned, then turned his head skyward and mouthed 'thank you'.

"C'mon, Mariana, keep swimming," Jack shouted, beginning to pull her to the nearby shore. Maria started to kick her legs once more, and as oxygen mixed with the adrenaline coursing through her veins, she could feel herself getting stronger. "Good girl, come on," Jack encouraged her, using all of his strength to get them both closer to the island.

The waves rose in swells all around them, the rain struck their faces painfully, and the wind whipped around them, making swimming much more difficult than it should have been.

* * *

If the storm wasn't so loud, the whole world would have heard Anamaria shouting their names into the vast sea, searching frantically for their bodies in the uneven ocean, hoping to find any trace of the two. Gibbs was doing the same, but had silently already given up hope for anyone that had been thrown into those treacherous waters. Tears began to stream down her face, though the rain that pounded down absorbed them, making them seem non-existent. She shouted until her voice became hoarse, and broke with sadness and despair. Gibbs approached the distraught pirate, and placed a heavy hand on her shoulder. She closed her eyes tightly, trying to block out the truth and stop her tears from falling. She would grieve a long time for Jack, she knew, and had known this for a very long time. Now she also knew that she would grieve for Mariana. But now was not the time for grief, she realised as a look of determination came across her face. Now was the time for survival.

She pulled herself away from the side of the ship, and faced the stricken crew.

"Hold onto anything you can, and don't let go!" she bellowed as lighting cut across the dark sky. Though it was still early morning, the storm had made the world so dark it could have passed as night. "I don't want any heroics from anyone trying to save any cargo, because you won't be able to do it. Just hold on, and pray that we all make it through!"

Anamaria grabbed onto a thick length of rope that had been tied to the wheel, and wound it around her wrist, then around the wheel itself, holding on for dear life. Most of the men held onto the masts of the ship. At this point, each of them knew that everyone on board was afraid, so they did not bother to hide it in their expressions.

* * *

What seemed like hours later, Jack and Maria staggered onto the shore of the small island. They got to the line of trees, then collapsed, neither having the strength to go any further. Maria instantly slipped into unconsciousness, unable to keep herself awake any longer. She was alive, for now, and that was all that mattered. Jack looked at her face. For someone who had nearly died and was now stranded on an island in the middle of a horrific thunderstorm, her face looked so peaceful, as if she had left that place entirely, and was now asleep in her own bed. He smiled, and then felt himself slipping away to sleep.

* * *

When he woke, the storm had vanished completely, the only reminders of its occurrance the broken branches that were scattered around, and the fact that both he and Maria were stranded on the island.

"Not again," he groaned, remembering that this was the very island that he already twice been stranded on.

Maria woke as he stood up, and walked over to the shore of the island, scanning the horizons for the long gone Black Pearl. He cursed under his breath, but then decided that wasn't quite enough to cover it, and he broke out in shouts.

"I suppose you think this is all hilarious!" he shouted at the sky. Maria sat up, and watched the pirate. "This is the third time you've done this to me! This is just a game to you, isn't it! You just love watching me to see how many ways I can find to get off this goddamn island, don't you? Do you not have anything else to do except torture a pirate?"

The ranting continued, and as Maria watched him, she realised that there was something different about him.

"I don't think he's listening, Jack," Maria said from behind, making him spin around to face her. His face broke out in a grin, making Maria wonder yet again if he was actually insane. It was then that she realised what was different about him. "Jack, what happened to your hair?"

"Huh?" he mumbled, a confused look on his face.

"Your hair," Maria repeated. "It's gone grey!"

Jack pulled a lock of it forward with his fingers, and looked at it, an expression of dismay on his face. "Dammit, the sea and rain must've washed out all the dye."

"Dye?" Maria questioned.

"Yes, dye. I wish my hair was still black, but it's not, it went grey some years ago," Jack admitted. He hated admitting to himself that he was getting old, and despised telling other people.

"Jack, you're a pirate! Why bother to dye your hair?" Maria asked in disbelief.

"Because I want to look good," Jack stated bluntly, making Maria laugh. "What?"

"Shouldn't you be more concerned about staying alive than looking good?" she asked.

"Maybe," Jack conceded. "But where's the fun in staying alive if you don't look good?"

"Only a pirate would say that," Maria said. "No, wait, only you would say that, Jack."

"Aye, maybe I'm the only one to say it, but I wasn't the one who raced to their room to brush their hair as soon as the first storm had finished," he pointed out, making Maria's face go red with embarrassment. "Does wanting to look good make you a pirate, too?" he asked, grinning.

"Just find your way off the island," Maria returned, looking him straight in the eye.

"How?" he asked simply.

"Like you did the other two times you got stranded here!" Maria exclaimed. "You're the one who's done this all before."

"The fist time I was here, I got off the island when I was picked up by rumrunners. The second time, your mother got us off," Jack stated.

"How?" Maria asked in amazement.

"She burned all the remaining rum that had been abandoned by the rum runners, attracting the attention of the wonderful Norrington and your father," Jack stated. He still hated to think of all that rum that had gone to waste. Maria's hopeful expression fell as any possibility of them getting off the island that way started to disappear.

"Where was it?" Maria asked.

"Why do you want to know?" Jack asked in return.

"If I was a rumrunner, I wouldn't just abandon a good hideout. I'd leave it for a while, then use it again. Keep people guessing," Maria explained.

"Well, you're not a rum runner, luv," Jack replied. Of all her traits, Maria definitely got her determination from her mother.

"Just tell me where it is, Jack," Maria sighed. She didn't know why the man didn't just tell her. After all, they had nothing to loose.

"Forty strides east from that tree," Jack said, giving in, because, clearly, she wasn't going to. Maria walked past him to the tree, and took several long strides in the right direction. "But this isn't going to work." Maria sighed, and her entire body slouched. She took a deep breath, and Jack actually cringed, thinking that he would get a lecture, like he frequently did from Anamaria. Instead, the girl carried on, taking large strides. Jack sniggered, deliberately trying to annoy her, but Maria ignored him, and carried on. Granted, she was doing this much more gracefully than Jack ever could, and he knew this, but then again, she was a born Lady. A born Lady becoming a pirate. Now there was something that you didn't see everyday. The last time Jack had seen it, it had been with Elizabeth, and even she hadn't gone pirate as quickly as her daughter now was. For a moment, Jack wondered how Maria would be able to slip back into her old life, and become Mariana Turner again. A smile played at the edges of Jack's lips. He'd set out to show her an alternative life, and he had. What was more, Maria was actually enjoying it, and had even said so herself.

"What are you staring at?" Maria asked from where she stood, pulling Jack out of his thoughts.

"Nothing, luv," Jack replied, doing his best to grin innocently, and not achieving it very well. "How's it going?"

"Forty paces," Maria replied, pointing at the ground. She jumped up and down, and smiled as the hollow sound reached her ears. "Help me open it," she said, bending down and uncovering the trap door. Jack sighed and walked over to Maria before helping her lift up the door. Quick as a flash, Maria had descended into the darkness. Jack waited for a beaten girl to arrive, but instead, two bottles flew up out of the opening, and landed by his feet. Bending down, he found that they were filled with a dark liquid. Maria emerged seconds later, two more bottles in her hands, looking very pleased.

"RUM!" Jack shouted, throwing his arms out wide. "Maria, luv, I take it all back! You could be a Lady, a pirate and a rumrunner. We have rum!" He uncorked one of the bottles and took a swig, then smiled happily at Maria.

"Thank you," Maria replied, bowing slightly.

Jack's face fell as he saw the look the Maria was giving the bottles in her hand. "Oh, no, luv. Don't do what Liz did, please!" he said, practically begging.

Maria looked at him like he was insane. "I'm not going to burn it, Jack. We need something to drink."

Jack grinned again, suddenly feeling much happier with the situation. "You're a lot more fun that your mother."

"I'll take that as a compliment," Maria said. "Besides, the rumrunners are obviously coming back, and they won't give us a ride if we've burnt their stockpile, will they?"

"Indeed they won't!" Jack cried out, raising his bottle to her. "But I'm sure they won't notice a few bottles missing," he added, and then took a long drink from the cask. Maria just shook her head. She had no doubt that the pirate would be completely drunk within the hour.


	10. Times Long Gone By

Elizabeth stared out at the vast ocean, searching the glistening waters. She had seen the far-off storms from the deck of the Spirit, and had prayed that Jack had the sense to stay out of them and that her daughter was safe. For the thousandth time, she thought of what had happened to Thomas, and what could be happening to Mariana at that very moment. And, for the thousandth time, she replayed past events in her head, wondering why Jack had come back and taken Mariana.

_Seventeen years earlier…_

_Elizabeth sat at the parlour table, cradling her tiny daughter in her arms, staring down into her green-blue eyes that were as deep as the ocean itself. Nothing will ever harm you, she promised the child in her mind. At that moment, a sombre looking Will came in through the door, Jack Sparrow in tow. The pirate looked more serious than Elizabeth had ever seen him, and his eyes were tired and worn. The men both took their seats at the table, Will sitting beside his wife and child, and Jack sitting opposite the small family._

_"Norrington and his ships came back this morning," Elizabeth said, breaking the silence. From the sound of her voice, Jack could already tell that they had returned without that which they had set out to find. "The pirates who took Thomas were no-where to be found, and neither was my son. They looked everywhere. Every island, every port, but they didn't find him." Elizabeth's eyes welled up with tears, and a lump rose in her throat as she spoke._

_"They're gone," Will said, picking up from where Elizabeth left off. "And so is Thomas."_

_"I am sorry," Jack said sincerely. "Truly, I am. Between my visits here, I will always watch out for any news of him." Will and Elizabeth exchanged glances, neither of them willing to say what they wanted. "What is it?" Jack asked, picking up on their feelings._

_"Jack, we don't want you to come here any more," Will said at last, his tone firm._

_"We are so grateful for all that you've done for us these past months," Elizabeth put in. "But we feel that this is the best way to protect Mariana. If she knew you, she could be used against you, in any number of ways. We have to raise her away from all that, so that we can keep her safe."_

_"So, you want to protect her by keeping me away from her," Jack said, summing it up._

_"It's not that we don't trust you. We'd love for you to stay with us from time to time, but it just isn't safe for her," Elizabeth pleaded, her eyes welling up again._

_"I see the sense in that," Jack said. "And I don't take any offence. I will leave at once, and I swear that I won't come back to you two until you want me," he continued, rising from his seat. "I'll leave Port Royale tonight. Will, keep them safe," he said, taking Will's hand and shaking it. "Elizabeth, take care of yourself. I wish you and your girl all the best." Then, without saying another word, or glancing back, Jack left the room and the Turner household. Will and Elizabeth sat at the table still, neither willing nor able to leave or speak. In her mother's arms, Mariana began to cry softly._

_Hours later, when the sun had set, Elizabeth carried her daughter up to her room, with Will walking beside her, carrying a candelabra to light the way. They walked silently to the nursery, where Elizabeth gently rocked the baby from side to side, soothing her until she was almost asleep. Then she gently laid her down in her cradle, and smiled at her before leaving the room with Will._

_"We'll keep her safe, never tell her anything about Jack, or the Black Pearl," Elizabeth said as she closed the door._

_"And we'll teach her how to defend herself, just in case she ever needs it," Will promised softly._

_Unknown to Elizabeth and Will though, at that moment, a figure appeared at Mariana's window, casting his shadow through the moonlight over the baby. Noticing the change in light, Mariana turned her head to look at the man. Through the closed window, his dark eyes glinted, and his lips parted in a smile that was almost fatherly. Mariana reached up at the man and cooed, smiling sweetly. They watched each other for a long time, until the babe could not longer keep her sleepy eyes open, but for a long time after that, the man watched Mariana, the coins and beads in his dark braided hair chiming in the wind._

_"You can sleep safely," he said softly to himself. "Your parents will keep you safe, and I'll always be watching over you. You have Captain Jack Sparrow's word on that."_

* * *

"Ship off to the starboard side!" a rough voice called, pulling Elizabeth from her thoughts. She raced over to the other side of the ship, and took out her spyglass. She looked through it, focusing it on the ship that was far off in the distance.

"It's the Black Pearl!" she cried excitedly as she recognised the ship. Will arrived at her side, and she offered him the spyglass, which he took. He smiled as he saw the ship.

"Full sails ahead!" Norrington called out to his crew. "Pull up the neutral flag! Fire a cannon to get their attention!" As soon as the orders had left Norrington's mouth, the crewmembers hurriedly began scrambling around the deck.

"We've found her!" Elizabeth cried, flinging her arms around her husband's neck as the cannon was fired. "Finally, this is all over."


End file.
